Media releases

I have today agreed to a request from the Chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for an extension of the reporting date of the ACCC’s inquiry into petrol pricing a

The Government has allocated over $3 million in additional funding to support corporate law initiatives, from the interest generated on the Companies and Unclaimed Moneys Special Account.

Kevin Rudd today revealed a humiliating ignorance of tax policy. Mr Rudd was unable to name a single tax rate or a single threshold for Australia’s income tax system:

Amendments to the Trade Practices Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2007 have passed in the Senate, the Treasurer and Minister for Small Business and Tourism, Fran Bailey announced today.

The Treasurer today turned the first sod on the final section of the Geelong bypass, from the Hamilton Highway at Fryansford to the Princes Highway at Waurn Ponds.

The Treasurer today hailed the introduction of legislation providing tax concessions for carbon sink forests as an important practical measure to reduce Australia’s net carbon emissions.

The IMF Executive Board has commended Australia’s exemplary economic management and recognised Australia as being at the forefront of international best practice in its annual assessme

The Treasurer today announced his decision to recognise the recent fires in Greece as a disaster for the purposes of tax deductibility of donations, effective from 24 August 2007, under the

Shadow Treasurer Wayne Swan has today admitted what most people have long suspected: economics is not his strong suit.

Under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975, I have decided to raise no objections to the proposal for Red Earth Holdings B.V.

National Accounts data released this morning by the ABS show strong and sustained economic growth.  GDP increased by 0.9 per cent in the June quarter to be 4.3 per cent

I am pleased to announce the appointment to the Reserve Bank Board of Mr John Akehurst for a period of five years.  Mr Akehurst will fill the position left vacant by Mr Hugh Morgan AC on 28&

The Australia Fair 2007 report released today highlights Australia’s strong performance in a number of areas including life expectancy, home ownership and economic growth.

Today the Treasurer launched a long-term initiative to cut the red tape confronting business when reporting to government.  The Australian Government’s Standard Business Reporting (SBR) prog

I have requested the Australian Statistician release the June quarter 2007 National Accounts one day early on Tuesday, 4 September 2007, in view of the fact that meetings surrounding the APEC Sum

I am pleased to announce the reappointments of Professor Ian Ramsay and Messrs Tom Bostock, Simon Stretton, David Barnett, John Keeves and Patrick Burroughs, each as part-time members of the

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Mrs Catherine Walter as a part-time member of the Payments System Board (PSB) for a five-year period commencing 3 September 2007.

After clawing back Specific Purpose Payments (SPPs) for Hospitals, a takeover of State hospitals by the Australian Government would cost the Commonwealth an additional amount of around $14.3 billio

Preliminary estimates indicate that the Australian Government general government sector recorded an underlying cash surplus of $17.3 billion (1.7 per cent of GDP) for 2006-07, which is $3.7 billion

Under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 I have decided to raise no objections to the proposal for CanWest Global Communications Corp, via its wholly owned subsidiary Canwes